LLM International Petroleum Taxation and Finance

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Designed to give you an understanding of the legal and regulatory environment and processes in the international energy and resources industries.

Overview

The world's long-term economic development depends on the existence of efficient, innovative and creative energy and resources industries. These in turn rely on individuals who possess a sound grasp of their legal, economic, technical and policy backgrounds.

The CEPMLP is at the heart of these issues and provides the best in advanced education in its field, preparing its graduates to meet the challenges posed by the evolving global economy.

Throughout its history, the CEPMLP has achieved continuous growth and has established international pre-eminence in its core activities: scholarly performance, high level academic research, strategic consultancy and top-quality executive education. Currently, we have over 500 registered postgraduate students from more than 50 countries world-wide.

Our interdisciplinary approach to teaching, research and consultancy gives us a unique perspective on how governments and businesses operate. We offer flexible courses delivered by the best in the field, devised and continually updated in line with the Centre's unique combination of professional expertise and academic excellence.

This provides a rigorous training for graduate students and working professionals. Full-time and distance-learning degrees, intensive training programmes tailor-made for individuals or companies and short-term professional seminars are all on offer.

We will teach you the practical and professional skills you need to mastermind complex commercial and financial transactions in the international workplace, and we will expose you to many varied and exciting opportunities. Why not take a few minutes to complete our application form - it could be the most far-reaching career move you'll ever make!

The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy

The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee is the internationally renowned graduate school in the field of international business transactions and natural resources and energy law and policy.

Stimulated by oil and gas developments in the North Sea, the Centre was established in May 1977.

Our interdisciplinary approach to teaching, research and consultancy provides a unique perspective on how governments, business and communities operate, providing the professionals of today with the ability to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2004 was recognition that for nearly three decades we had been delivering high quality professional training and education worldwide.

This commitment to quality remains to this day and will continue and improve into the future.

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)

The University of Dundee has been given a Gold award – the highest possible rating – in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

Teaching & Assessment

How you will be taught

Knowledge and Understanding:

of the main types of international (global and regional) and national regulatory frameworks and instruments between and within individual states, as well as between companies and governments, and contractual arrangements between companies in the international energy and natural resources sectors.

of the key policy issues relating to law, regulation and contracts in the international energy and natural resources sectors.

of the jurisprudence of courts, and operation of tribunals and other dispute settlement mechanisms.

Skills

Undertake an evaluation of legal (or fiscal) regimes for the international energy and natural resources sectors.

Participate in the drafting of international agreements and national regulations or in the negotiation of an agreement between government and company or between companies, in the international energy and natural resources sectors.

Critically review information and critically analyse issues relating to the international energy and natural resources sectors, informed by developments at the forefront of the subject.

How you will be assessed

The LLM is made up of compulsory and elective modules, from a wide range - visit the CEPMLP website to view the full list for a particular specialisation. The taught component is followed by either:

a dissertation of up to 15,000 words on a topic approved by an academic supervisor, or

an Internship report - students who choose this option are required to source an organisation willing to offer a 3-month work placement, approved by an academic supervisor.

What you will study

Our LLM is made up of a total of 180 credits

Core Modules

Overview

The main objective of the module is to provide an understanding of the main law and policy issues in the international petroleum industry, with an emphasis upon transactional agreements concluded between host government and oil company/investors.

Common and diverging objectives between the two parties and indeed among the international corporate and financial investors themselves are faced in a candid and practical way, with an emphasis upon ways of accommodating the interests of diverse stakeholders in the development of petroleum resources.

A brief introduction is provided to petroleum taxation issues. The module focuses upon problem-solving techniques in a variety of settings, noting the inputs of lawyers, economists, accountants, engineers and geologists.

Module leader

Overview

This module will provide students with foundation knowledge on how taxes and non-tax instruments are used by governments and the extractive industry to promote natural resource development while deriving revenues for the state and profits for extractive firms. Emphasis is on providing an understanding of the complex issues of tax regimes and the skill to analysis current topics or controversies, with the objective of providing competent strategy or policy advice to either governments or resource firms. Students will be prepared to compare and evaluate alternative taxation regimes, including environmental and international tax issues. Some topics covered in the module include; resource rent taxation, royalties, direct and indirect taxes, general structure of PSAs/PSCs, transfer pricing, and current issues from around the world. This module does not teach skills in accounting, financial analysis or tax law.

Module leader

Core Specialist

Overview

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to current methods of financial and project appraisal techniques that relate to natural resources and energy organisations. This is a practical course in which evaluation techniques and concepts are taught, such as discounted cash flow, internal rate of return and payback period, which are applied to realistic scenarios, leading to the preparation of spreadsheets, their analysis and interpretation of results. The student should be able to recommend the appropriate appraisal techniques to a given business investment along with an appreciation of social and other non-financial features. Taxation and sources of finance are also introduced in this module, but any in-depth analyses of them can only be provided in other courses.

Module leader

Overview

The aim of this module is to equip students with the economic, technical, and institutional knowledge for understanding the working of the international petroleum industry and to develop students’ capacity in analyzing the economic and policy problems associated with international oil and gas markets. The module is organized along the petroleum product value chain, such as exploration and development, production, refining and marketing, and natural gas monetization. By completing this module, students should have the knowledge and understanding of demand, supply and price dynamics of oil, gas and refined petroleum products and the skills to analyze trends and issues in oil and gas markets and to evaluate petroleum projects, contracts, and policies. The module is designed for an interdisciplinary audience and will not require a background in economics.

Module leader

This interdisciplinary course challenges students to think about the global challenges that our society faces in our energy sectors and to our climate. As there is a realization that there are significant problems to be resolved, this course examines the policy initiatives and issues of conflict around the world. There is increased legal action on many energy and climate issues globally, and this is one of the world’s first courses examine this area with an interdisciplinary approach covering science, policy and law.

The just transition to a low-carbon economy is the greatest societal challenge of our time. As societies worldwide work towards 2030, 2040, and 2050 energy, climate and sustainability goals there is a need to ensure these are achieved in a ‘just’ way. Society in future has to be fair and equitable and also one where inequalities are addressed and resolved. This interdisciplinary course covers all of these complex challenges as countries worldwide aim to achieve a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

Overview

Project financing is a tool, not an outcome in itself. This course recognises that energy projects are frequently financed by lenders. Where the lenders are content to accept repayment solely from the revenues of that project – not from the wider revenues of the sponsor – there is a limitation of recourse (or at the extreme an absence of recourse). That is project financing. The course looks at how various types of energy project can be structured to achieve that goal. The bank is not an equity risk taker – its business is to take credit risks. Project finance will force the bank to take a degree of project risk, so the bank will demand a contractual structure which mitigates that risk exposure. The course is concerned with understanding the risks for various energy projects – oil development; gas development; power generators; mining projects etc – and seeing how the principle risks inherent in those projects are moved by contract to the party best able to bear the risk. The course understands that where the bank is happy with the project risk profile, it will lend. If the bank is not happy with the project risk profile, it will not lend. The course looks at the risks which can be moved and how are they moved to a party acceptable to the lender – whilst at the same time ensuring that the holder of that risk is happy with the level of payment for taking that risk.

Module leader

Overview

The primary aim of the course is to provide a detailed consideration of the theory of finance as it applies to the energy and mining industries and to consider how the theory is applied in practice. The two key focus areas will be investment decision making with uncertainty and how the investment demands are financed.

Module leader

International Taxation Law

Aims

To examine critically the law relating to taxation in an international context. The module will look at jurisdiction to tax individuals and businesses, the causes of double taxation and ways in which domestic systems seek to deal with double taxation where activities attracting taxation are carried out over more than one country –namely through double taxation treaties. The module will look at how different countries seek to protect their tax base against tax avoidance.

Examples of content

jurisdiction to tax –corporate residence

permanent establishment

taxation of business profits

double tax treaties –interpretation

international tax avoidance

BEPS and countering international tax avoidance

SCQF credits

20 credits

Compulsory Choice Modules

Overview

The dissertation contributes to the achievement of the aims of the Masters degree namely:- to promote a deeper and critical understanding of selected areas relating to the specialisation of the student; to develop originality of thought and skills of research, analysis, argumentation and expression; to build upon, develop and integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the taught modules.

A dissertation of up to 15,000 words on a topic approved by an academic supervisor.

Overview

The internship provides the student with the opportunity to apply in the workplace the knowledge and skills learnt at CEPMLP and to learn how professionals in the field perform their tasks.

Students who choose this option are required to source an organisation willing to offer a 2-month work placement, approved by an academic supervisor. The Internship includes the submission of a written report as part of the assessment.

The internship requires an intellectual report of approximately 10,000 words

Elective Modules

Sufficient modules from the academic timetable to bring the total number of credits to 180.

In common with other CEPMLP LLM degrees, any approved module can be included in the elective modules.

Careers

What sort of jobs do alumni of CEPMLP go on to do?

The answer is a wide range of varied roles. It is important to be aware that as with any job it depends upon your level of experience and skills set as to whether the role would be suitable for you, there is no one size fits all.

Past alumni have found employment with a variety of organisations including National Oil Companies, Exploration and Production Companies, Government and Ministries and Commercial Organisations including Banks, Law Firms and Global Consultancies.

Entry Requirements

You should have the equivalent to a UK Honours degree, preferably at 2:1 level or above. Candidates with a 2:2 degree may also apply. Preferred degree disciplines are Law, Economics, Geology, Petroleum or Mining Engineering, Finance.

Work experience in the energy/natural resources industry is an advantage, though it is not a strict requirement for admission to the MSc.

English Language Requirement

English Language Programmes

We offer Pre-Sessional and Foundation Programme(s) throughout the year. These are designed to prepare you for university study in the UK when you have not yet met the language requirements for direct entry onto a degree programme.